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Stefanos Tsitsipas ended a fabulous year on a high as he defeated Alex de Minaur to win the Next Gen Finals in Milan.

The Greek has firmly established himself as one of the leading lights of his generation and he triumphed over another tipped to have a bright future with a 2-4 4-1 4-3 (7-3) 4-3 (7-3) win against the Australian.

Both have made remarkable strides this season.

Tsitsipas finished the year as world No. 15 with impressive runs to the finals of Barcelona and, particularly, the Rogers Cup – a Masters 1000 event – while he lifted a first tour-level title in Stockholm.

De Minaur fought hard (Picture: Getty)

De Minaur’s climb to just outside the top-30 is all the more impressive when one considers he began 2018 outside the top-200. Finishing as runner-up in Washington and Sydney were among the 19-year-old’s best results.

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Their respective efforts saw them honoured in the annual ATP awards, with Tsitsipas named as the most improved player and De Minaur crowned as newcomer of the year.

Following Denis Shapovalov’s withdrawal, the pair were the top-ranked players at the experimental event in Milan, and their supremacy was evident as they both went unbeaten through the event to reach the final.

ATP awards

Comeback of the year: Novak Djokovic

Most improved player: Stefanos Tsitsipas

Newcomer of the year: Alex de Minaur

Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award: Rafael Nadal

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award: Tommy Robredo

Coach of the year: Marian Vajda

Fans’ favourite singles player: Roger Federer

Fans’ favourite doubles team: Mike Bryan/Jack Sock

ATP Masters 1000 event of the year: Indian Wells

ATP 500 event of the year: Queen’s

ATP 250 event of the year: Stockholm

The finale itself was a match always likely to deliver. Both have drastically differing gamestyles, which made viewing easy on the eye.

Despite his tender years, De Minaur has already established himself as one of the pluckiest fighters on the ATP Tour, while he boasts breathtaking speed – much like his mentor and two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt.

Tsitsipas – whose looks have been compared to legendary Swede Bjorn Borg – has an aesthetically pleasing one-handed backhand and more natural power than his opponent, while possessing plenty of fight of his own.

In the shortened first-to-four-games format, there’s little chance of recovery from a break – and so it proved in each of the first two sets as they shared the spoils.

The pair have contrasting styles (Picture: Getty)

It remained difficult to split the pair in the third, with a tiebreaker required at 3-3, but it was the Greek who stepped up to get himself in front for the first time in the match.

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De Minaur saved two match points in the last game of the fourth and, ultimately, final set but it was Tsitsipas who once again triumphed in the tiebreak to secure a win that will leave a sweet taste after a remarkable season as he was crowned the best of his contemporaries.

After the match, the Greek sensation said: ”It feels great. I’ve been playing some great tennis this week in Milan.

‘I have huge respect for him, his game and his personality. It was a fantastic match, I stayed calm. I was mentally very strong and that proved in the tiebreak in the last set. I’m very happy.’

De Minaur added: ‘It’s been an unbelievable year. It’s a shame it couldn’t finish with a win but I couldn’t be prouder. Congratulations to Stef and his team for an amazing year and an amazing week.’

Rublev finished third in Milan (Picture: Getty)

Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s Andrey Rublev won the third-place play-off, defeating Spain’s Jaume Munar 1-4 4-3 (7-4) 2-4 4-2 4-3 (7-3) to end what’s been a tough season on a high.

‘Most of all Spanish players are really good fighters and I knew at the beginning it would not be easy,’ the 21-year-old said after the match.

‘Hopefully I’m going to make the pre-season like I never did before and I can perform well next season and can compete with the top players.’